Changing URL structure after your blog's been up for months...

So, let's say that you have a blog and you decide to change the URL structure within Wordpress. For instance, you could have the date included in your blog posts, followed by the post name.

Example: sitename/12/06/2012/blackhat-seo

And let's say at a point you decide that the structure is ugly and you want to change it. Also, let's say that you've worked on the site for months and have hundreds of posts up by the time you make this decision.

URL structure change example:

sitename/blackhat-seo

Now, I know that obviously it's going to hurt the incoming links to your site, but is it going to hurt anywhere else? Will it throw your SEO efforts off? How long do you think before you could rebound from the change?

Re: Changing URL structure after your blog's been up for months...

I think where you are currently determines how long it would take to rebound. If your not getting much traffic, then it won't take long to not get much traffic again. If your getting tons of traffic, it will take longer. Of course one step back to take two steps forward isn't a new thing.

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Re: Changing URL structure after your blog's been up for months...

Originally Posted by TTGSteve

Now, I know that obviously it's going to hurt the incoming links to your site, but is it going to hurt anywhere else? Will it throw your SEO efforts off? How long do you think before you could rebound from the change?

- First thing I want to point out is that it will not hurt the incoming links as long as you redirect all old URLs to the new URLs using a 301 (or permanent) redirect. Google and the other search engines give all link juice and authority from the old URL and pass it to the new one.

- It will not hurt your SEO if you follow the above steps using a 301 redirect.

- There is nothing to "rebound" from if you use a 301 redirect.

Edit: I believe there are WordPress plugins that can handle the redirects automatically.
There may even be a core feature that allows it. Haven't used WordPress in awhile.

Re: Changing URL structure after your blog's been up for months...

Originally Posted by HFlame7

- First thing I want to point out is that it will not hurt the incoming links as long as you redirect all old URLs to the new URLs using a 301 (or permanent) redirect. Google and the other search engines give all link juice and authority from the old URL and pass it to the new one.

- It will not hurt your SEO if you follow the above steps using a 301 redirect.

- There is nothing to "rebound" from if you use a 301 redirect.

Edit: I believe there are WordPress plugins that can handle the redirects automatically.
There may even be a core feature that allows it. Haven't used WordPress in awhile.

Thank you VERY much! I found a perfect 301 redirect plugin for Wordpress. It's called "Change Permalink Helper" and it goes by the Post ID's to find the old structures and update them accordingly. All you have to do is install it and you don't even have to worry about settings.

I changed my structure awhile back and I was paying for it, so I had to do something. I just went to a backlink I got from eHow (which was under the old structure) and when clicked took people to a 404 page. Now, it's working flawlessly.